Became the Academy Cleaner (2)
Leaving behind the interview room steeped in a chilly silence, I returned to Lulu. As of today, I had become the Academy's cleaner. I felt neither joy nor excitement. Wait—what was that smell?
"Lulu! I missed you so much! I was so lonely staying at the Academy all by myself during break!"
"W-wait, Clare……"
"Do you know how much I missed you, Lulu? You probably don't. You have no idea how much loss and sorrow I felt while we were apart……"
Before me, Lulu and a girl who appeared to be her classmate were embracing in a joyful reunion. I knew that girl. Clare. Daughter of the Lord of Sayang and one of the major sponsors of the arena, just like Libertas. So this was how Lulu had learned about Jason. The pieces were finally falling into place. Lulu was quite popular among the arena's big sponsors. At least she wouldn't starve.
"You're here?"
"Who is that person? Do you know him?"
"He used to be a servant at our house. Starting today, he's also working as a cleaner at the Academy."
"Ah, hello."
If things had gone the arena manager's way, I might have ended up facing Jason after all. We would have met as old acquaintances. I gave a slight bow.
"It must have been tiring walking such a long way with Lulu. An Academy cleaner… I suppose we'll be seeing each other often from now on. Please take care of me. What's your name?"
"Ah, his name is Cavalier. He's a friend who can't speak……"
"I see. I'm Clare. Nice to meet you, Cavalier."
By this world's standards, the name Woo Suho was far too unusual. It had the same awkward ring as Kim Daniel or Park Samuel. I couldn't even pass it off as an undead like they did at the arena. Better to avoid drawing unnecessary attention. When I gave her the alias I'd used during the interview, Clare cheerfully extended her hand for a handshake. I'd assumed the daughter of a noble who enjoyed the arena would have a rotten personality, but she was surprisingly polite. She embodied the kind of person Woo Suho personally respected. Or perhaps she was simply putting on an act. I shook her hand anyway.
Her eyes and hair burned a vivid red. Unlike Lulu, she was tall with a curvaceous figure—the sort of body that would make Naram noona grumble, "I wish my chest was that big too." I swallowed hard. Lulu shot me a disgusted look. That wasn't what I meant. Don't misunderstand.
"Well then, I'll be on my way. Have a good day, Lulu and Cavalier."
The polite Clare disappeared.
"Hey……"
"You."
I cut Lulu off. With a cold expression, I stared after Clare.
"Don't get close to that girl."
"Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
My nose was sensitive. As the Predator who devoured Hwanjong, I could detect their scent faster than anyone.
"She reeks of Hwanjong."
"What?"
"I'm saying she smells like a Hwanjong."
"W-what!? You're saying Clare is a cryptid!?"
"I never said that."
"Then what do you mean, she smells like one……"
"The scent clings to anyone who stays close to a Hwanjong. Just like her."
Clare had some connection to a Hwanjong. My instincts, which could never be deceived, were telling me so.
"Anyway, stay away from her for now. I need to look into this."
"N-no. Clare is my precious friend. Let me help too."
"You could die."
Among the bizarre abilities of Hwanjong, there were those capable of controlling people. I didn't know which Hwanjong she was entangled with. Still, it was better to be cautious when dealing with someone who only had one life.
"If Clare's in danger, of course I'd want to help. And if it's a cryptid, that's exactly what I want. My goal is to learn more about them……"
I sighed.
"Why are you so obsessed with Hwanjong? Nothing good will come from getting involved."
"I want to know about cryptids. I have to know. And besides, you were going to tell me about them anyway."
Lulu's stubbornness looked unshakable. No helping it.
"Fine."
"!"
"But there's a condition."
If I told her to back off, she had to back off. There might come a time when her life was truly in danger. If Lulu died, Naram noona would be devastated. I couldn't make noona sad. When I laid out the condition, Lulu nodded brightly with a smile.
"Okay!"
"Good."
"This is a subspace artifact. I'm giving it to you so you won't have to carry heavy cleaning tools around."
"This is an artifact that lets you use Clean magic."
"This is the Academy staff uniform. You can change into it."
"This is your Academy staff ID. If there's a problem, show this to security."
"You'll be in charge of the main building. Other people will handle the annex, gymnasium, dormitories, auditorium, cafeteria, and so on, so don't worry about those……"
I listened to the head manager's explanations while holding the artifact. The same head manager who had crushed my hopes during the interview turned out to be quite competent. How did he explain everything so clearly and concisely? If this were Korea, he could've made a living as a lecturer at a cram school. I nodded.
"By the way, you don't need to clean the second-floor restroom in the main building."
"?"
"There's a reason. It's a restricted area anyway, so even if you wanted to go in, you wouldn't be able to."
I thought of the blue tissue and the red tissue. Since the staff dormitory was in the annex, I'd never actually entered the main building's restroom. Had some kind of incident happened? And why wasn't he explaining it in detail? Was he worried I'd run away scared if I heard the story? When I asked Lulu about it……
"Ah, that. Didn't I mention it before? The blue tissue and red tissue thing. There was a famous ghost before break that kept whispering like that in the second-floor restroom. It became such a controversy that the Academy sealed off the entrance. Honestly, I wanted to investigate it too, but the mages dispatched from the Clocktower layered so many barriers over it……"
So that was the situation. In any case, the job of Academy cleaner was easy. I still couldn't get used to the convenience of cleaning everything with the press of a button, but I polished the main building to a shine—the lecture halls used by students and professors, the laboratories where magical research was actively conducted, the corridors, restrooms, and snack bar. Everything in the Academy's main building, where science had been replaced by magic, sparkled.
When I checked the clock, it was 3 PM. Back at the Supernatural Research Institute, this would have been the time I stared blankly at the sky from the incinerator. But this wasn't the institute. Unlike back then, no one looked at me like I was a monster, even if they did look down on me. There were no Eighteen or the criminal fourth-class inmates picking fights. I didn't have to clean the isolation cells of Hwanjong who were always after my life. The atmosphere was different from the cleaning I'd done before, and I felt a strange sense of dissonance. It wasn't a bad feeling. There simply wasn't any thrill or tension.
I thought of Naram noona. Around this time, she would hand me a drink and say, "Good work today!" Lulu was still in class. I still had time before I could start tailing Clare. I recalled the "blue tissue, red tissue" story I'd heard earlier. I had time to spare—maybe I should go take a look. I headed for the second-floor restroom in the main building. Sure enough, suspicious-looking papers covered in drawings were plastered all over the door. When I tried to turn the handle, an unknown repulsive force pushed me back. The door wasn't locked. It seemed a barrier had been placed so that I couldn't even touch the handle itself. Hmm. What to do? I glanced around. The hallway was empty. There were no surveillance cameras like at the institute. "And if I get caught, well… I'll think about it then……" I remembered how Naram noona had once bypassed the institute's security to show me the night sky. She really was something. She was always the one who gave me answers when I hesitated. If I got caught, I'd deal with it then.
Would you like to use the trait 'Chainsaw Killer'?
"Yeah."
Darkness enveloped my body. The hockey mask, Jason's signature, covered my face. A chainsaw appeared in each hand, and my staff uniform transformed into a dark brown vest and pants. When the darkness faded, I checked my reflection in the window. A perfect slasher killer. Usually transformations turned you into a cool hero or magical girl, but I had become a monster so terrifying you'd faint on sight if you met me at night. I looked shabby and pathetic. I turned the doorknob. Just like Jason at the arena, the barrier couldn't harm me. After easily nullifying the magic, I stepped inside.